It sure sounds like he at least mentioned the possibility to Sens GM Bryan Murray. Whether or not that was just "end of season frustration"....time will tell.

We first broached the subject on the Healthy Scratches after Bryan Murray revealed to us during our season wrap interview that Spezza was emotional in his exit meeting, saying the booing and criticism really bothered him. Murray told us that he wanted to sit down with Spezza again in a few weeks when things settle down.

This past Friday night CTVOttawa caught up with Spezza at a minor hockey banquet:

When asked if he had asked for a trade Spezza responded with:"I don't know, I don't know. I don't have a comment about that kind of stuff. I don't know where all this is coming from but whatever happens, happens. I don't know. I have nothing to....people need stuff to talk about I guess"

When asked if he wanted to be in Ottawa next year:

"Ya, I'm signed with Ottawa so if they wanna to have me here then I'm here, so you know I'm not going to get into anything that was talked about in our meetings or what went on but I'm gonna be here next year if they have me here"

Earlier today at the GM meetings in Philadelphia GM Bryan Murray had this to say:

"He was a little unhappy at the end of the year. I took it as being somewhat emotional more than anything. I haven't talked to him in the last few weeks. I hope before July 1st to have that conversation with him."

"I got an impression that he was quite unhappy at the end, I think the coverage he felt he got and the fan reaction a couple of times left him kind of wanting a little bit. But I don't think it's anything beyond that. My next conversation with him will be away from the emotion of playoff time to see what we can do and what we have to do."

"It's easy to say we should trade players. People don't have space for six or seven million dollar players - so that's an issue."

Spezza will surely be asked about this again tomorrow morning as he attends an event in Toronto. All of this talk is just that, talk. However, as we all read the tea leaves on this one, it sure sounds like Bryan Murray's next conversation with Spezza will go a long way in determining if Sens fans will have a repeat of last off season.

4
comments:

Nice article, I think it's obvious that Spezza wants out!! I mean just the way he says I don'T know??? Are you serious you should know if YES you want out or NO...

My personal opinion is that he might have went to see Murray for a trade and Murray told him to take some time off to think about it. I'm pretty sure Murray doesn't want this to become another "heatley" saga!!!

Steve, I'll be one hundred percent honest here that I can't stand Spezza.

Yeah, like you I've lived through the Andrew McBains, the Bonks, the Yashins, the Kanata Clutch, all those guys...and outside of Bonk I don't think anyone has infuriated me more than Spezza.

This guy has SO MUCH TALENT but he lack the drive. It's like he's a Shelby Cobra but he can't get out of Neutral. I can count the games where he played with intensity on the fingers of one hand...he just isn't elite but he's getting elite numbers.

It might be best if he moved on. He'll never be appreciated here unless he plays a Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf type game, using his size AND skill to maximum efficiency.

Sadly, this isn't in Spezza's game. He's an offensive catalyst and...that's it. Kinda like Pierre Turgeon for the post-lockout era. You could put a "C" on Turgeon too (the Habs did) and it still didn't make the Tin Man have heart.

Spezza needs to make a decision:

Either take the steps to play an intense, two-way game or be one of the most reviled athletes in Ottawa since Dany Heatley and Dexter Manley.

The fans in this town simply will not put up with a half-assed effort.

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About this blog

Welcome to my Healthy Scratches blog. You can hear Jason York and myself weekdays from 3-6 on Team 1200. I use this blog to expand upon some of the things we talk about on the show, and anything else that really pops into my ample head.
Twitter.com/Steve_Lloyd